Softly Wilting
by Does my name honestly matter
Summary: Broken boy meets broken girl because of a cookie obsession. Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

Kori walked into the coffee shop, quickly tying her hair up into a sloppy bun. She adjusted the strap of her messenger bag, and strolled to the line. She would order her vanilla late and her usual double chocolate chip cookie, and she wouldn't care about the looks he gave her. She didn't come in here for him, although he _was_ pretty attractive… she came here because he happened to make the best coffee in the entire city, and this small coffee shop had the most amazing cookies. She needed them like she needed air. She needed the cookies to keep her sane.

The boy caught her eyes, and he sighed. "Next." He groaned, barely looking at her as she walked up to the counter.

She gave him her usual order – honestly, he should know this by now - and then she glared at him. "I don't come here for you," she stated.

"Okay," he replied simply. "Your total is seven dollars and sixty cents…"

"Okay," Kori replied, handing him her card.

He obviously didn't believe her, but who would? He was in here every single time she was. It wasn't her fault that the cookies were honestly the greatest things in the world. It wasn't her fault that the coffee here was simple and not processed and didn't taste fake. It certainly wasn't her fault that it seemed like she was _stalking him._

Or maybe it was. She didn't know. She just wanted her order.

"I need to find a new coffee shop," she grumbled to herself, drumming her fingers on the counter.

…..

Richard watched her drum her fingers on the counter, and suppressed a sigh. _What was with this insane girl?_ He glanced behind her. There was no line. People didn't come here at this time. This was a busy place in the mornings, not at five in the afternoon.

"I need to find a new coffee shop," the girl said softly.

Richard held in a chuckle, rolling his eyes. He needed to find a new job. Preferably one without ditzy redheads.

"Here's your coffee and your cookie," he grumbled, handing her the bag and the coffee.

"Thank you…" Her eyes met his, and he immediately frowned. _Her eyes._ No one had eyes that _green._ Her eyes were forests. Her eyes were the color of grass. _It had to be contacts._ But he didn't really think so. He had never really _looked_ at her before. She was a tall girl, but she was extremely thin. Her hair was so red…

She was beautiful…

But he was Richard…

…..

Kori walked away, feeling quite angry and a little bit confused. He had stared at her so intensely… what was he thinking about?

The boy was quite attractive, with neatly styled black hair and intense blue eyes. He seemed like a jerk though, especially since he seemed to take a disliking to her. _Everybody_ liked Kori. She made sure to be especially nice to everyone. She always smiled, and she was always generous… But he thought she was crazy. He once told her to stop showing up at the coffee shop… but nowhere else compared. She just wished he didn't work there. The mysterious boy…

She shook her head, continuing her walk. She had a routine. Every day she went to school, went to work, then she bought some coffee and a cookie, and then she walked back to her small apartment. She didn't know if the pay at the coffee shop was good. Not that she'd ever work there… She was perfectly content working at the library.

She just wanted to know why his eyes were so void of any emotion. Why he was always so _angry._ Didn't he have friends? Didn't he have anyone? The thought of him being alone nearly made her turn around. She had nothing to do tonight. Maybe he wasn't busy. Maybe he would want to order a pizza with her, and laugh about how insane the idea of her being a _stalker_ was.

But he _did_ think she was a stalker. He wouldn't want to randomly want to go have pizza with her. If she turned around and suggested it, he would certainly laugh in her face or worse. She shook her head, determined. She wouldn't turn back. Especially when he was so _rude_. Having pizza with her wouldn't be horrible. Kori was funny, nice, and she loved to talk. He would be exceptionally lucky to have her as a friend. Honestly, she wasn't surprised that he didn't have many friends. She was more surprised at herself for thinking about him this entire time.

She should think of something more important and more deserving. Like Roy. Her actual boyfriend. Who hated coffee and couldn't understand her infatuation with cookies. Kori couldn't help but wonder if the boy from the coffee shop actually liked coffee. Did he like books? Roy only liked nonfiction books. And he didn't have time to read. He was always so busy working.

Roy was older. He was in law school, while Kori was a junior in college. Kori was working towards becoming a writer. Or a publisher. She couldn't decide yet, but it was one of the two. She was at home with books. It didn't matter what she ended up doing as long as it was with books.

Kori continued walking, thinking about her relationship with Roy. He was so mature, but Kori just wanted to have fun. Roy never wanted to go out. His idea of a good time was curled up at home with a good movie. Kori wanted the romantic dates, and actually going out to parties. Roy was always tired, but he was never tired of her. He was there for her when her father had… disappeared. He was there for her when she couldn't imagine being happy. Roy was always there with her. Roy took care of her.

But Kori wanted _so much more…_


	2. Chapter 2

"Miss. Anders, would you please stop daydreaming and join the discussion?" Kori's eyes snapped to her lit professor. She smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," she murmured and turned to her group.

Just twenty minutes. _Twenty extremely long minutes until she was able to get out of here and get some coffee._ She didn't have to work today; maybe he wouldn't be working… it _was_ only 3:00, and she would be able to get there by 3:30 if she walked fast enough. He had never been working at that time.

And Kori only noticed because she didn't have to deal with how _rude_ he was. It would be a miracle if she could get through today without dealing with him.

…..

Richard had to work early today. He was happy; he wouldn't have to see _her._ Ever since he bothered to look at her the day before, she was on his mind. He had never seen anyone quite like her. She was always happy, always smiling. He realized that maybe he _had_ always noticed her.

She was loud, especially when she was there with her friends. She didn't seem to wear any expensive clothes, yet she sometimes bought coffee and put it on hold for people who couldn't afford any. She chewed her pens while she was studying, and she wrinkled her nose when she was concentrating.

Richard had called _her_ the stalker, but now it seemed like it was _him_ who had become the stalker.

She was quite a beautiful girlj; she looked so different and… _exotic._ Not like who usually chased him. She wasn't like any of them.

But Richard… He wasn't as nice as she was. He didn't care about anyone; not even his _'friends'_. He was pretty sure even _they_ didn't like him. He had no one to home to, no parents… He had no, and that was the reality of his life.

He was so exhausted; he was always working, always at school, never sleeping… He couldn't ever sleep. Not since his parents died. Not since he moved out of his uncle's house. It had been years, but the hurt never really went away. It was always there in the back of his mind. _Richard was completely and utterly alone._

But he wasn't alone when he was with Barbara. He wasn't alone before Barbara decided that he was _'broken and unfixable'_.

He also wasn't alone when he stared into _her_ eyes. Richard couldn't deny a bit of physical similarities between his cookie girl and Babs, but they were also _so_ different.

Richard was surprised; he had gone from despising her to calling her _his cookie girl._ How pathetic was that? He was _insane_. There was no way she could ever like him. Especially after he treated her like garbage every day.

And Richard would never know if she bothered to pay any attention to him. He didn't plan on ever asking. He wouldn't be good enough for her reguardless.

…..

Kori walked into the coffee shop, hesitantly glancing at the counter. There he was… looking right at her.

She sighed, walking up to the counter. There was no line, and the shop was nearly empty.

"I know what you want," the boy said, making her furrow her eyebrows.

"Um. Okay?" She bit her lip.

"Seven dollars and fifteen cents. Please." He stared at her.

She felt a bit weirded out. Normally he avoided looking at her. Normally he snapped at her. Normally he messed up her order or something. And now he knew exactly what she wanted? She handed him the money, opening her mouth to speak.

"I want to apologize," he said before she could say anything.

She stared at him. "For what…?"

"For calling you a stalker, when you really just wanted a cookie."

Her eyes widened. "Oh. Um. It's okay?"

He nodded, handing her the coffee and the cookie. "I'm Richard, by the way."

"Kori," she responded, a slight smile spreading across her face.


End file.
